Pea variety SV0962QB

ABSTRACT

The invention provides seed and plants of pea line SV0962QB. The invention thus relates to the plants, seeds, and tissue cultures of pea line SV0962QB and to methods for producing a pea plant produced by crossing a plant of pea line SV0962QB with itself or with another pea plant, such as a plant of another line. The invention further relates to seeds and plants produced by such crossing. The invention further relates to parts of a plant of pea line SV0962QB, including the seed, pod, and gametes of such plants.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of plant breeding and, morespecifically, to the development of pea line SV0962QB.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The goal of vegetable breeding is to combine various desirable traits ina single variety/hybrid. Such desirable traits may include any traitdeemed beneficial by a grower and/or consumer including greater yield,resistance to insects or pathogens, tolerance to environmental stress,better agronomic quality, higher nutritional value, growth rate, andfruit or pod properties.

Breeding techniques take advantage of a plant's method of pollination.There are two general methods of pollination: a plant self-pollinates ifpollen from one flower is transferred to the same or another flower ofthe same plant or plant variety. A plant cross-pollinates if pollencomes to it from a flower of a different plant variety.

Plants that have been self-pollinated and selected for type over manygenerations become homozygous at almost all genetic loci and produce auniform population of true breeding progeny, a homozygous plant. A crossbetween two such homozygous plants of different genotypes produces auniform population of hybrid plants that are heterozygous for manygenetic loci. Conversely, a cross of two plants each heterozygous at anumber of loci produces a population of hybrid plants that differgenetically and are not uniform. The resulting non-uniformity makesperformance unpredictable.

The development of uniform varieties requires the development ofhomozygous inbred plants, the crossing of these inbred plants, and theevaluation of the crosses. Pedigree breeding and recurrent selection areexamples of breeding methods that have been used to develop inbredplants from breeding populations. Those breeding methods combine thegenetic backgrounds from two or more plants or various other broad-basedsources into breeding pools from which new lines are developed byselfing and selection of desired phenotypes. The new lines are evaluatedto determine which of those have commercial potential.

Pea plants are able to reproduce by self-fertilization andcross-fertilization. Thus far, however, commercial pea varieties havebeen inbred lines prepared through self-fertilization (Kevin McPhee, In:Journal of New Seeds: Innovations in production, biotechnology, quality,and marketing; ISSN: 1522-886X, 6:2/3, 2005).

Peas are one of the top vegetables used for processing in the UnitedStates; with approximately 90% of the grown pea acreage used forprocessed consumption (NASS Census of Agriculture 2002). The pea is anannual cool season plant, growing best in slightly acidic soil. Manycultivars reach maturity about 60 days after planting. Pea plants canhave both low-growing and vining cultivars. The vining cultivars growthin tendrils from the leaves of the plant, which coil around availablesupports. The pea pods form at the leaf axils of the plant.

As with other legumes, pea plants are able to obtain fixed nitrogencompounds from symbiotic soil bacteria. Pea plants therefore have asubstantially reduced fertilizer requirement compared to non-leguminouscrops. This advantage adds to their commercial value, particularly inview of increasing fertilizer costs, and has generated considerableinterest in the creation of new pea plant cultivars.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, the present invention provides a pea plant of the lineSV0962QB. Also provided are pea plants having all the physiological andmorphological characteristics of the pea line SV0962QB. Parts of the peaplant of the present invention are also provided, for example, includingpollen, an ovule, an embryo, a seed, a pod, and a cell of the plant.

The invention also concerns the seed of pea line SV0962QB. In oneembodiment, pea seed of the invention may be provided as an essentiallyhomogeneous population of pea seed of the line designated SV0962QB.Essentially homogeneous populations of seed are generally free fromsubstantial numbers of other seed. Therefore, in one embodiment, seed ofline SV0962QB may be defined as forming at least about 97% of the totalseed, including at least about 98%, 99% or more of the seed. Thepopulation of pea seed may be particularly defined as being essentiallyfree from hybrid seed. The seed population may be separately grown toprovide an essentially homogeneous population of pea plants designatedSV0962QB.

In another aspect of the invention, a plant of pea line SV0962QBcomprising an added heritable trait is provided. The heritable trait maycomprise a genetic locus that is, for example, a dominant or recessiveallele. In one embodiment of the invention, a plant of pea line SV0962QBis defined as comprising a single locus conversion. In specificembodiments of the invention, an added genetic locus confers one or moretraits such as, for example, herbicide tolerance, insect resistance,disease resistance, and modified carbohydrate metabolism. In furtherembodiments, the trait may be conferred by a naturally occurring geneintroduced into the genome of the line by backcrossing, a natural orinduced mutation, or a transgene introduced through genetictransformation techniques into the plant or a progenitor of any previousgeneration thereof. When introduced through transformation, a geneticlocus may comprise one or more genes integrated at a single chromosomallocation.

In some embodiments, a single locus conversion includes one or moresite-specific changes to the plant genome, such as, without limitation,one or more nucleotide modifications, deletions, or insertions. A singlelocus may comprise one or more genes or nucleotides integrated ormutated at a single chromosomal location. In one embodiment, a singlelocus conversion may be introduced by a genetic engineering technique,methods of which include, for example, genome editing with engineerednucleases (GEEN). Engineered nucleases include, but are not limited to,Cas endonucleases; zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs); transcriptionactivator-like effector nucleases (TALENs); engineered meganucleases,also known as homing endonucleases; and other endonucleases for DNA orRNA-guided genome editing that are well-known to the skilled artisan.

In another aspect of the invention, a tissue culture of regenerablecells of a pea plant of line SV0962QB is provided. The tissue culturewill preferably be capable of regenerating pea plants capable ofexpressing all of the physiological and morphological characteristics ofthe starting plant, and of regenerating plants having substantially thesame genotype as the starting plant. Examples of some of thephysiological and morphological characteristics of the line SV0962QBinclude those traits set forth in the table herein. The regenerablecells in such tissue cultures may be derived, for example, from embryos,meristems, cotyledons, pollen, leaves, anthers, roots, root tips,pistils, flowers, seed, and stalks. Still further, the present inventionprovides pea plants regenerated from a tissue culture of the invention,the plants having all the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of line SV0962QB.

In yet another aspect of the invention, processes are provided forproducing pea seeds, pods and plants, which processes generally comprisecrossing a first parent pea plant with a second parent pea plant,wherein at least one of the first or second parent pea plants is a plantof the line designated SV0962QB. These processes may be furtherexemplified as processes for preparing hybrid pea seed or plants,wherein a first pea plant is crossed with a second pea plant of adifferent, distinct genotype to provide a hybrid that has, as one of itsparents, the pea plant line SV0962QB. In these processes, crossing willresult in the production of seed. The seed production occurs regardlessof whether the seed is collected or not.

In one embodiment of the invention, the first step in “crossing”comprises planting seeds of a first and second parent pea plant, oftenin proximity so that pollination will occur for example, mediated byinsect vectors. Alternatively, pollen can be transferred manually. Wherethe plant is self-pollinated, pollination may occur without the need fordirect human intervention other than plant cultivation.

A second step may comprise cultivating or growing the seeds of first andsecond parent pea plants into plants that bear flowers. A third step maycomprise preventing self-pollination of the plants, such as byemasculating the male portions of flowers, (i.e., treating ormanipulating the flowers to produce an emasculated parent pea plant).Self-incompatibility systems may also be used in some hybrid crops forthe same purpose. Self-incompatible plants still shed viable pollen andcan pollinate plants of other varieties but are incapable of pollinatingthemselves or other plants of the same line.

A fourth step for a hybrid cross may comprise cross-pollination betweenthe first and second parent pea plants. Yet another step comprisesharvesting the seeds from at least one of the parent pea plants. Theharvested seed can be grown to produce a pea plant or hybrid pea plant.

The present invention also provides the pea seeds and plants produced bya process that comprises crossing a first parent pea plant with a secondparent pea plant, wherein at least one of the first or second parent peaplants is a plant of the line SV0962QB. In one embodiment of theinvention, pea seed and plants produced by the process are firstgeneration (F₁) hybrid pea seed and plants produced by crossing a plantin accordance with the invention with another, distinct plant. Thepresent invention further contemplates plant parts of such an F₁ hybridpea plant, and methods of use thereof. Therefore, certain exemplaryembodiments of the invention provide an F₁ hybrid pea plant and seedthereof.

In still yet another aspect, the present invention provides a method ofproducing a plant derived from line SV0962QB, the method comprising thesteps of: (a) preparing a progeny plant derived from line SV0962QB,wherein said preparing comprises crossing a plant of the line SV0962QBwith a second plant; and (b) crossing the progeny plant with itself or asecond plant to produce a seed of a progeny plant of a subsequentgeneration. In further embodiments, the method may additionallycomprise: (c) growing a progeny plant of a subsequent generation fromsaid seed of a progeny plant of a subsequent generation and crossing theprogeny plant of a subsequent generation with itself or a second plant;and repeating the steps for an additional 3-10 generations to produce aplant derived from line SV0962QB. The plant derived from line SV0962QBmay be an inbred line, and the aforementioned repeated crossing stepsmay be defined as comprising sufficient inbreeding to produce the inbredline. In the method, it may be desirable to select particular plantsresulting from step (c) for continued crossing according to steps (b)and (c). By selecting plants having one or more desirable traits, aplant derived from line SV0962QB is obtained which possesses some of thedesirable traits of the line as well as potentially other selectedtraits.

In certain embodiments, the present invention provides a method ofproducing peas comprising: (a) obtaining a plant of pea line SV0962QB,wherein the plant has been cultivated to maturity, and (b) collectingpeas from the plant.

In still yet another aspect of the invention, the genetic complement ofthe pea plant line SV0962QB is provided. The phrase “genetic complement”is used to refer to the aggregate of nucleotide sequences, theexpression of which sequences defines the phenotype of, in the presentcase, a pea plant, or a cell or tissue of that plant. A geneticcomplement thus represents the genetic makeup of a cell, tissue orplant, and a hybrid genetic complement represents the genetic make-up ofa hybrid cell, tissue or plant. The invention thus provides pea plantcells that have a genetic complement in accordance with the pea plantcells disclosed herein, and plants, seeds and plants containing suchcells.

Plant genetic complements may be assessed by genetic marker profiles,and by the expression of phenotypic traits that are characteristic ofthe expression of the genetic complement, e.g., isozyme typing profiles.It is understood that line SV0962QB could be identified by any of themany well-known techniques such as, for example, Simple Sequence LengthPolymorphisms (SSLPs) (Williams et al., Nucleic Acids Res., 18:6531-6535, 1990), Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs), DNAAmplification Fingerprinting (DAF), Sequence Characterized AmplifiedRegions (SCARs), Arbitrary Primed Polymerase Chain Reaction (AP-PCR),Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphisms (AFLPs) (EP 534 858,specifically incorporated herein by reference in its entirety), andSingle Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) (Wang et al., Science,280:1077-1082, 1998).

In still yet another aspect, the present invention provides hybridgenetic complements, as represented by pea plant cells, tissues, plants,and seeds, formed by the combination of a haploid genetic complement ofa pea plant of the invention with a haploid genetic complement of asecond pea plant, preferably, another, distinct pea plant. In anotheraspect, the present invention provides a pea plant regenerated from atissue culture that comprises a hybrid genetic complement of thisinvention.

In certain embodiments, the present invention provides a method ofproducing peas comprising: (a) obtaining a plant of pea line SV0962QB,wherein the plant has been cultivated to maturity, and (b) collectingpea from the plant.

Any embodiment discussed herein with respect to one aspect of theinvention applies to other aspects of the invention as well, unlessspecifically noted.

The term “about” is used to indicate that a value includes the standarddeviation of the mean for the device or method being employed todetermine the value. The use of the term “or” in the claims is used tomean “and/or” unless explicitly indicated to refer to alternatives onlyor the alternatives are mutually exclusive. When used in conjunctionwith the word “comprising” or other open language in the claims, thewords “a” and “an” denote “one or more,” unless specifically notedotherwise. The terms “comprise,” “have” and “include” are open-endedlinking verbs. Any forms or tenses of one or more of these verbs, suchas “comprises,” “comprising,” “has,” “having,” “includes” and“including,” are also open-ended. For example, any method that“comprises,” “has” or “includes” one or more steps is not limited topossessing only those one or more steps and also covers other unlistedsteps. Similarly, any plant that “comprises,” “has” or “includes” one ormore traits is not limited to possessing only those one or more traitsand covers other unlisted traits.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following detailed description. It should beunderstood, however, that the detailed description and any specificexamples provided, while indicating specific embodiments of theinvention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changesand modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from this detaileddescription.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides methods and compositions relating to plants,seeds, and derivatives of the pea line designated SV0962QB. This lineshows uniformity and stability within the limits of environmentalinfluence for the traits described hereinafter. Pea line SV0962QBprovides sufficient seed yield. By crossing with a distinct, secondplant, uniform F₁ hybrid progeny can be obtained.

Pea line SV0962QB, also known as DGI-C8101326, is a medium late maturingintermediate sieve dark green pea variety with normal foliage. Thevariety comprises a dominant allele for resistance to race 0 of thedowny mildew fungus, Peronospora viciae, that traces back to JI85 (awild accession of the John Innes collection), the recessive er1 allelefor powdery mildew resistance, and the Fw1 allele for resistance to race1 of the wilt fungus, Fusarium oxysporum fsp pisi. The variety wasselected based on productivity, disease resistance and plant type.

A. Physiological and Morphological Characteristics of Pea Line SV0962QB

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a plant having the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of pea line SV0962QB. A description of the physiologicaland morphological characteristics of pea line SV0962QB is presented inthe table that follows.

TABLE 1 Physiological and Morphological Characteristics of Pea LineSV0962QB CHARACTERISTIC SV0962QB Waverex Type garden garden Maturitynode number of the first bloom 13.7 11.6 number of days processing 78 79time of flowering (30% of plants late late/very late having at least oneflower open) number of days earlier than the 1 comparison variety Plantheight (cm) 33.5 36.3 number of centimeters shorter 0.8 than thecomparison variety anthocyanin coloration absent absent maximum numberof flowers per three two node (varieties with stem fasciation absent)Stem type of anthocyanin coloration of absent absent axil fasciationabsent absent length (main stem) short/medium short/medium number ofnodes up to and medium medium/many including first fertile node Vinehabit determinate determinate branching 1-2 branches more than 2branches internodes zig zag zig zag number of nodes 21.3 20.1 stockinessmedium medium Foliage color green green intensity of color mediummedium/dark Leaf leaflets present present maximum number of leaflets fewmedium size medium medium length medium short/medium width medium mediumposition of broadest part moderately moderately towards base towardsbase dentation strong weak color medium green medium green wax mediummedium molding marbled marbled number of leaflet pairs two three or moreleaflet type normal normal Stipules clasping present present marblingpresent present size (compared with leaflets) larger larger color(compared with leaflets) darker darker color medium green medium greensize medium medium length short/medium short/medium width narrow/mediumnarrow/medium flecking present present density of flecking medium/densemedium/dense length from axil to tip medium/long medium length of lobebelow axil medium short Petiole length from axil to first leaflet orshort short tendril (A-B) length from axil to last tendril medium medium(A-C) Flower venation color greenish greenish standard color white whitecolor of standard white whitish cream width of standard medium narrowshape of base of standard level level undulation of standard weak weakwing color white white keel color white white width of upper sepalnarrow narrow Peduncle length of spur (length of C-D) short short lengthfrom stem to first pod medium medium (length of A-B) length betweenfirst and second medium/long medium/long pods (length of B-C) number ofbracts absent or few absent or few Pod shape slightly curved curved endpointed blunt color dark green dark green color green green intensity ofgreen color dark medium/dark surface smooth smooth surface dull dullborne double and triple double length short short length (cm) 7.6 6.7width narow/medium narow/medium width between sutures (mm) 10.4 10.6parchment entire entire shape of distal part (only varieties pointedblunt with pod: thickened wall absent) curvature weak medium number ofovules medium/many medium/many number of seeds per pod 10.0 8.46 Seedintensity of green color dark dark (immature) color (95-100Tenderometer) dark green dark green shape (dry-mature) flattenedflattened surface (dry-mature) wrinkled wrinkled luster (dry-mature)dull dull color pattern (dry-mature) monocolor monocolor primary color(dry-mature) cream and green cream and green hilum color (dry-mature)tan white cotyledon color (dry-mature) green green weight (g/100 seeds)(dry- 10.1 9.9 mature) weight low low shape cylindrical cylindrical typeof starch grains compound compound intensity of wrinkling of mediummedium cotyledon color of cotyledon green green hilum color darker thantesta same color as testa These are typical values. Values may vary dueto environment. Values that are substantially equivalent are within thescope of the invention.

B. Breeding Pea Plants

One aspect of the current invention concerns methods for crossing thepea line SV0962QB with itself or a second plant and the seeds and plantsproduced by such methods. These methods can be used for propagation ofline SV0962QB or can be used to produce hybrid pea seeds and the plantsgrown therefrom. Hybrid seeds are produced by crossing line SV0962QBwith second pea parent line.

The development of new varieties using one or more starting varieties iswell known in the art. In accordance with the invention, novel varietiesmay be created by crossing line SV0962QB followed by multiplegenerations of breeding according to such well-known methods. Newvarieties may be created by crossing with any second plant. In selectingsuch a second plant to cross for the purpose of developing novel lines,it may be desired to choose those plants which either themselves exhibitone or more selected desirable characteristics or which exhibit thedesired characteristic(s) in progeny. Once initial crosses have beenmade, inbreeding and selection take place to produce new varieties. Fordevelopment of a uniform line, often five or more generations of selfingand selection are involved.

Uniform lines of new varieties may also be developed by way ofdouble-haploids. This technique allows the creation of true breedinglines without the need for multiple generations of selfing andselection. In this manner true breeding lines can be produced in aslittle as one generation. Haploid embryos may be produced frommicrospores, pollen, anther cultures, or ovary cultures. The haploidembryos may then be doubled autonomously, or by chemical treatments(e.g. colchicine treatment). Alternatively, haploid embryos may be growninto haploid plants and treated to induce chromosome doubling. In eithercase, fertile homozygous plants are obtained. In accordance with theinvention, any of such techniques may be used in connection with lineSV0962QB and progeny thereof to achieve a homozygous line.

New varieties may be created, for example, by crossing line SV0962QBwith any second plant and selection of progeny in various generationsand/or by doubled haploid technology. In choosing a second plant tocross for the purpose of developing novel lines, it may be desired tochoose those plants which either themselves exhibit one or more selecteddesirable characteristics or which exhibit the desired characteristic(s)in progeny. After one or more lines are crossed, true-breeding lines maybe developed.

Backcrossing can also be used to improve an inbred plant. Backcrossingtransfers a specific desirable trait from one inbred or non-inbredsource to an inbred that lacks that trait. This can be accomplished, forexample, by first crossing a superior inbred (A) (recurrent parent) to adonor inbred (non-recurrent parent), which carries the appropriate locusor loci for the trait in question. The progeny of this cross are thenmated back to the superior recurrent parent (A) followed by selection inthe resultant progeny for the desired trait to be transferred from thenon-recurrent parent. After five or more backcross generations withselection for the desired trait, the progeny have the characteristicbeing transferred, but are like the superior parent for most or almostall other loci. The last backcross generation would be selfed to givepure breeding progeny for the trait being transferred.

The line of the present invention is particularly well suited for thedevelopment of new lines based on the elite nature of the geneticbackground of the line. In selecting a second plant to cross withSV0962QB for the purpose of developing novel pea lines, it willtypically be preferred to choose those plants which either themselvesexhibit one or more selected desirable characteristics or which exhibitthe desired characteristic(s) when in hybrid combination. Examples ofpotentially desirable traits include, but are not necessarily limitedto, improved resistance to viral, fungal, and bacterial pathogens,improved insect resistance, pod morphology, herbicide tolerance,environmental tolerance (e.g. tolerance to temperature, drought, andsoil conditions, such as acidity, alkalinity, and salinity), growthcharacteristics, nutritional content, taste, and texture. Improved tasteand texture applies not only to the peas themselves, but also to thepods of those varieties yielding edible pods. In peas, as in otherlegumes, taste and nutritional content are particularly affected by thesucrose and starch content.

Among fungal diseases of particular concern in peas are Ascochyla pisi,Cladosporium pisicola (leaf spot or scab), Erysiphe polygoni (powderymildew), Fusarium oxysporum (wilt), Fusarium solani (Fusarium root rot),Mycosphaerella pinodes (Mycospharella blight), Peronospora viciae (downymildew), Phythium sp. (pre emergence damping-off), Botrytis cinerea(grey mold), Aphanomyces euteiches (common root rot), Thielaviopsisbasicola (black root rot), and Sclerotina sclerotiorum (sclerotina whitemold). Pea plant viral diseases include: Bean yellow mosaic virus(BYMV), Bean leaf roll virus (BLRV), Pea early browning virus (PEBV),Pea enation mosaic virus (PEMV), Pea mosaic virus (PMV), Pea seed-bornemosaic virus (PSbMV) and Pea streak virus (PSV). An important bacterialdisease affecting pea plants is caused by Pseudomonas pisi (bacterialblight), (Muehlbauer et al., In: Description and culture of dry peas,USAD-ARS Agricultural Reviews and Manuals, Western Region, California,37:92, 1983; Davies et al., In: Pea (Pisum sativum L.), Summerfield andRoberts (Eds.), Williams Collins Sons and Co. Ltd, UK, 147-198, 1985;van Emden et al., In: Pest, disease, and weed problems in pea, lentil,faba bean, and chickpea, Summerfield (Ed.), Kluwer Academic Publishers,Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 519-534, 1988).

Insect pests that may be of particular concern in peas include Aphiscracivora (Groundnut aphid), Acyrthosiphon pisum (Pea aphid), Kakothripsrobustus (Pea thrips), Bruchis pisorum (Pea seed beetle), Callosobruchuschinensis (Adzuki bean seed beetle), Apion sp. (Seed weevil), Sitonalineatus (Bean weevil), Contarina pisi (Pea midge), Helicoverpa armigera(African bollworm), Diachrysia obliqua (Pod borer), Agriotis sp. (Cutworms), Cydia nigricana (Pea moth), Phytomuza horticola (Leaf minor),Heliothis Zea (American bollworm), Etiella sinckenella (Lima bean podborer), Ophiomyia phaseoli (Bean fly), Delia platura (Bean seed fly),Tetranychus sp. (Spider mites), Pratylenchus penetrants (Root lesionnematodes), Ditylenchus dipsaci (Stem nematode), Heterodera goettingiana(Pea cyst nematode), and Meloidogyne javanica (Root knot nematode), (vanEmden et al., In: Pest, disease, and weed problems in pea, lentil, fababean, and chickpea, Summerfield (Ed.), Kluwer Academic Publishers,Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 519-534, 1988; Muehlbauer et al., In:Description and culture of dry peas, USAD-ARS Agricultural Reviews andManuals, Western Region, California, 37:92, 1983).

C. Further Embodiments of the Invention

In certain aspects, the invention provides plants modified to include atleast a first desired heritable trait. Such plants may, in oneembodiment, be developed by a plant breeding technique calledbackcrossing, wherein essentially all of the morphological andphysiological characteristics of a variety are recovered in addition toa genetic locus transferred into the plant via the backcrossingtechnique. The term single locus converted plant as used herein refersto those pea plants which are developed by a plant breeding techniquecalled backcrossing or by genetic engineering, wherein essentially allof the desired morphological and physiological characteristics of avariety are recovered or conserved in addition to the single locusintroduced into the variety via the backcrossing or genetic engineeringtechnique, respectively. By essentially all of the morphological andphysiological characteristics, it is meant that the characteristics of aplant are recovered or conserved that are otherwise present whencompared in the same environment, other than an occasional variant traitthat might arise during backcrossing, introduction of a transgene, orapplication of a genetic engineering technique.

Backcrossing methods can be used with the present invention to improveor introduce a characteristic into the present variety. The parental peaplant which contributes the locus for the desired characteristic istermed the nonrecurrent or donor parent. This terminology refers to thefact that the nonrecurrent parent is used one time in the backcrossprotocol and therefore does not recur. The parental pea plant to whichthe locus or loci from the nonrecurrent parent are transferred is knownas the recurrent parent as it is used for several rounds in thebackcrossing protocol.

In a typical backcross protocol, the original variety of interest(recurrent parent) is crossed to a second variety (nonrecurrent parent)that carries the single locus of interest to be transferred. Theresulting progeny from this cross are then crossed again to therecurrent parent and the process is repeated until a pea plant isobtained wherein essentially all of the desired morphological andphysiological characteristics of the recurrent parent are recovered inthe converted plant, in addition to the single transferred locus fromthe nonrecurrent parent.

The selection of a suitable recurrent parent is an important step for asuccessful backcrossing procedure. The goal of a backcross protocol isto alter or substitute a single trait or characteristic in the originalvariety. To accomplish this, a single locus of the recurrent variety ismodified or substituted with the desired locus from the nonrecurrentparent, while retaining essentially all of the rest of the desiredgenetic, and therefore the desired physiological and morphologicalconstitution of the original variety. The choice of the particularnonrecurrent parent will depend on the purpose of the backcross; one ofthe major purposes is to add some commercially desirable trait to theplant. The exact backcrossing protocol will depend on the characteristicor trait being altered and the genetic distance between the recurrentand nonrecurrent parents. Although backcrossing methods are simplifiedwhen the characteristic being transferred is a dominant allele, arecessive allele, or an additive allele (between recessive anddominant), may also be transferred. In this instance it may be necessaryto introduce a test of the progeny to determine if the desiredcharacteristic has been successfully transferred.

In one embodiment, progeny pea plants of a backcross in which SV0962QBis the recurrent parent comprise (i) the desired trait from thenon-recurrent parent and (ii) all of the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of pea line SV0962QB as determined at the 5%significance level when grown in the same environmental conditions.

Pea varieties can also be developed from more than two parents. Thetechnique, known as modified backcrossing, uses different recurrentparents during the backcrossing. Modified backcrossing may be used toreplace the original recurrent parent with a variety having certain moredesirable characteristics or multiple parents may be used to obtaindifferent desirable characteristics from each.

With the development of molecular markers associated with particulartraits, it is possible to add additional traits into an established germline, such as represented here, with the end result being substantiallythe same base germplasm with the addition of a new trait or traits.Molecular breeding, as described in Moose and Mumm, 2008 (PlantPhysiology, 147:969-977), for example, and elsewhere, provides amechanism for integrating single or multiple traits or QTL into an eliteline. This molecular breeding-facilitated movement of a trait or traitsinto an elite line may encompass incorporation of a particular genomicfragment associated with a particular trait of interest into the eliteline by the mechanism of identification of the integrated genomicfragment with the use of flanking or associated marker assays. In theembodiment represented here, one, two, three or four genomic loci, forexample, may be integrated into an elite line via this methodology. Whenthis elite line containing the additional loci is further crossed withanother parental elite line to produce hybrid offspring, it is possibleto then incorporate at least eight separate additional loci into thehybrid. These additional loci may confer, for example, such traits as adisease resistance or a fruit quality trait. In one embodiment, eachlocus may confer a separate trait. In another embodiment, loci may needto be homozygous and exist in each parent line to confer a trait in thehybrid. In yet another embodiment, multiple loci may be combined toconfer a single robust phenotype of a desired trait.

Many single locus traits have been identified that are not regularlyselected for in the development of a new inbred but that can be improvedby backcrossing techniques. Single locus traits may or may not betransgenic; examples of these traits include, but are not limited to,male sterility, herbicide resistance, resistance to bacterial, fungal,or viral disease, insect resistance, restoration of male fertility,modified fatty acid or carbohydrate metabolism, and enhanced nutritionalquality. These comprise genes generally inherited through the nucleus.

Direct selection may be applied where the single locus acts as adominant trait. An example of a dominant trait is the downy mildewresistance trait. For this selection process, the progeny of the initialcross are sprayed with downy mildew spores prior to the backcrossing.The spraying eliminates any plants which do not have the desired downymildew resistance characteristic, and only those plants which have thedowny mildew resistance gene are used in the subsequent backcross. Thisprocess is then repeated for all additional backcross generations.

Selection of pea plants for breeding is not necessarily dependent on thephenotype of a plant and instead can be based on genetic investigations.For example, one can utilize a suitable genetic marker which is closelygenetically linked to a trait of interest. One of these markers can beused to identify the presence or absence of a trait in the offspring ofa particular cross, and can be used in selection of progeny forcontinued breeding. This technique is commonly referred to as markerassisted selection. Any other type of genetic marker or other assaywhich is able to identify the relative presence or absence of a trait ofinterest in a plant can also be useful for breeding purposes. Proceduresfor marker assisted selection applicable to the breeding of pea are wellknown in the art. Such methods will be of particular utility in the caseof recessive traits and variable phenotypes, or where conventionalassays may be more expensive, time consuming or otherwisedisadvantageous. In addition, marker assisted selection may be used toidentify plants comprising desirable genotypes at the seed, seedling, orplant stage, to identify or assess the purity of a cultivar, to catalogthe genetic diversity of a germplasm collection, and to monitor specificalleles or haplotypes within an established cultivar

Types of genetic markers which could be used in accordance with theinvention include, but are not necessarily limited to, Simple SequenceLength Polymorphisms (SSLPs) (Williams et al., Nucleic Acids Res., 18:6531-6535, 1990), Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs), DNAAmplification Fingerprinting (DAF), Sequence Characterized AmplifiedRegions (SCARs), Arbitrary Primed Polymerase Chain Reaction (AP-PCR),Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphisms (AFLPs) (EP 534 858,specifically incorporated herein by reference in its entirety), andSingle Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) (Wang et al., Science,280:1077-1082, 1998).

In particular embodiments of the invention, marker assisted selection isused to increase the efficiency of a backcrossing breeding scheme forproducing a pea line comprising a desired trait. This technique iscommonly referred to as marker assisted backcrossing (MABC). Thistechnique is well-known in the art and may involve, for example, the useof three or more levels of selection, including foreground selection toidentity the presence of a desired locus, which may complement orreplace phenotype screening protocols; recombinant selection to minimizelinkage drag; and background selection to maximize recurrent parentgenome recovery

D. Plants Derived by Genetic Engineering

Various genetic engineering technologies have been developed and may beused by those of skill in the art to introduce traits in plants. Incertain aspects of the claimed invention, traits are introduced into peaplants via altering or introducing a single genetic locus or transgeneinto the genome of a recited variety or progenitor thereof. Methods ofgenetic engineering to modify, delete, or insert genes andpolynucleotides into the genomic DNA of plants are well-known in theart.

In specific embodiments of the invention, improved pea lines can becreated through the site-specific modification of a plant genome.Methods of genetic engineering include, for example, utilizingsequence-specific nucleases such as zinc-finger nucleases (see, forexample, U.S. Pat. Appl. Pub. No. 2011-0203012); engineered or nativemeganucleases; TALE-endonucleases (see, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos.8,586,363 and 9,181,535); and RNA-guided endonucleases, such as those ofthe CRISPR/Cas systems (see, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,697,359 and8,771,945 and U.S. Pat. Appl. Pub. No. 2014-0068797). One embodiment ofthe invention thus relates to utilizing a nuclease or any associatedprotein to carry out genome modification. This nuclease could beprovided heterologously within donor template DNA for templated-genomicediting or in a separate molecule or vector. A recombinant DNA constructmay also comprise a sequence encoding one or more guide RNAs to directthe nuclease to the site within the plant genome to be modified. Furthermethods for altering or introducing a single genetic locus include, forexample, utilizing single-stranded oligonucleotides to introduce basepair modifications in a pea plant genome (see, for example Sauer et al.,Plant Physiol, 170(4):1917-1928, 2016).

Methods for site-directed alteration or introduction of a single geneticlocus are well-known in the art and include those that utilizesequence-specific nucleases, such as the aforementioned, or complexes ofproteins and guide-RNA that cut genomic DNA to produce a double-strandbreak (DSB) or nick at a genetic locus. As is well-understood in theart, during the process of repairing the DSB or nick introduced by thenuclease enzyme, a donor template, transgene, or expression cassettepolynucleotide may become integrated into the genome at the site of theDSB or nick. The presence of homology arms in the DNA to be integratedmay promote the adoption and targeting of the insertion sequence intothe plant genome during the repair process through homologousrecombination or non-homologous end joining (NHEJ).

In another embodiment of the invention, genetic transformation may beused to insert a selected transgene into a plant of the invention ormay, alternatively, be used for the preparation of transgenes which canbe introduced by backcrossing. Methods for the transformation of plantsthat are well-known to those of skill in the art and applicable to manycrop species include, but are not limited to, electroporation,microprojectile bombardment, Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, anddirect DNA uptake by protoplasts.

To effect transformation by electroporation, one may employ eitherfriable tissues, such as a suspension culture of cells or embryogeniccallus or alternatively one may transform immature embryos or otherorganized tissue directly. In this technique, one would partiallydegrade the cell walls of the chosen cells by exposing them topectin-degrading enzymes (pectolyases) or mechanically wound tissues ina controlled manner.

An efficient method for delivering transforming DNA segments to plantcells is microprojectile bombardment. In this method, particles arecoated with nucleic acids and delivered into cells by a propellingforce. Exemplary particles include those comprised of tungsten,platinum, and, preferably, gold. For the bombardment, cells insuspension are concentrated on filters or solid culture medium.Alternatively, immature embryos or other target cells may be arranged onsolid culture medium. The cells to be bombarded are positioned at anappropriate distance below the macroprojectile stopping plate.

An illustrative embodiment of a method for delivering DNA into plantcells by acceleration is the Biolistics Particle Delivery System, whichcan be used to propel particles coated with DNA or cells through ascreen, such as a stainless steel or Nytex screen, onto a surfacecovered with target cells. The screen disperses the particles so thatthey are not delivered to the recipient cells in large aggregates.Microprojectile bombardment techniques are widely applicable and may beused to transform virtually any plant species.

Agrobacterium-mediated transfer is another widely applicable system forintroducing gene loci into plant cells. An advantage of the technique isthat DNA can be introduced into whole plant tissues, thereby bypassingthe need for regeneration of an intact plant from a protoplast. ModernAgrobacterium transformation vectors are capable of replication in E.coli as well as Agrobacterium, allowing for convenient manipulations(Klee et al., Nat. Biotechnol., 3(7):637-642, 1985). Moreover, recenttechnological advances in vectors for Agrobacterium-mediated genetransfer have improved the arrangement of genes and restriction sites inthe vectors to facilitate the construction of vectors capable ofexpressing various polypeptide coding genes. The vectors described haveconvenient multi-linker regions flanked by a promoter and apolyadenylation site for direct expression of inserted polypeptidecoding genes. Additionally, Agrobacterium containing both armed anddisarmed Ti genes can be used for transformation.

In those plant strains where Agrobacterium-mediated transformation isefficient, it is the method of choice because of the facile and definednature of the gene locus transfer. The use of Agrobacterium-mediatedplant integrating vectors to introduce DNA into plant cells is wellknown in the art (Fraley et al., Nat. Biotechnol., 3:629-635, 1985; U.S.Pat. No. 563,055). Agrobacterium-mediated transformation is aparticularly beneficial method for producing recombinant pea-plants.Transformed pea plants may be obtained by incubating pea explantmaterial with Agrobacterium containing the DNA sequence of interest(U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,286,635 and 5,773,693).

Transformation of plant protoplasts also can be achieved using methodsbased on calcium phosphate precipitation, polyethylene glycol treatment,electroporation, and combinations of these treatments (see, e.g.,Potrykus et al., Mol. Gen. Genet., 199:183-188, 1985; Omirulleh et al.,Plant Mol. Biol., 21(3):415-428, 1993; Fromm et al., Nature,312:791-793, 1986; Uchimiya et al., Mol. Gen. Genet., 204:204, 1986;Marcotte et al., Nature, 335:454, 1988). Transformation of plants andexpression of foreign genetic elements is exemplified in Choi et al.(Plant Cell Rep., 13: 344-348, 1994), and Ellul et al. (Theor. Appl.Genet., 107:462-469, 2003).

A number of promoters have utility for plant gene expression for anygene of interest including but not limited to selectable markers,scoreable markers, genes for pest tolerance, disease resistance,nutritional enhancements and any other gene of agronomic interest.Examples of constitutive promoters useful for pea plant gene expressioninclude, but are not limited to, the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV)P-35S promoter, which confers constitutive, high-level expression inmost plant tissues (see, e.g., Odell et al., Nature, 313:810, 1985),including monocots (see, e.g., Dekeyser et al., Plant Cell, 2:591, 1990;Terada and Shimamoto, Mol. Gen. Genet., 220:389, 1990); a tandemlyduplicated version of the CaMV 35S promoter, the enhanced 35S promoter(P-e35S) the nopaline synthase promoter (An et al., Plant Physiol.,88:547, 1988), the octopine synthase promoter (Fromm et al., Plant Cell,1:977, 1989); and the figwort mosaic virus (P-FMV) promoter as describedin U.S. Pat. No. 5,378,619 and an enhanced version of the FMV promoter(P-eFMV) where the promoter sequence of P-FMV is duplicated in tandem,the cauliflower mosaic virus 19S promoter, a sugarcane bacilliform viruspromoter, a commelina yellow mottle virus promoter, and other plant DNAvirus promoters known to express in plant cells.

With an inducible promoter the rate of transcription increases inresponse to an inducing agent. Any inducible promoter can be used in theinstant invention. A variety of plant gene promoters that are regulatedin response to environmental, hormonal, chemical, and/or developmentalsignals can be used for expression of an operably linked gene in plantcells, including promoters regulated by (1) heat (Callis et al., PlantPhysiol., 88:965, 1988), (2) light (e.g., pea rbcS-3A promoter,Kuhlemeier et al., Plant Cell, 1:471, 1989; maize rbcS promoter,Schaffner and Sheen, Plant Cell, 3:997, 1991; or chlorophyll a/b-bindingprotein promoter, Simpson et al., EMBO J., 4:2723, 1985), (3) hormones,such as abscisic acid (Marcotte et al., Plant Cell, 1:969, 1989), (4)wounding (e.g., wunl, Siebertz et al., Plant Cell, 1:961, 1989); or (5)chemicals such as methyl jasmonate, salicylic acid, or Safener. It mayalso be advantageous to employ organ-specific promoters (e.g., Roshal etal., EMBO J., 6:1155, 1987; Schernthaner et al., EMBO J., 7:1249, 1988;Bustos et al., Plant Cell, 1:839, 1989).). Exemplary organ-specific ororgan-preferred promoters include, but are not limited to, aroot-preferred promoter, such as that from the phaseolin gene(Sengupta-Gopalan et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 82:3320-3324,1985); a leaf-specific and light-induced promoter such as that from cabor rubisco (Simpson et al., EMBO J., 4:2723, 1985) and Timko et al.,Nature, 318:579-582, 1985); an anther-specific promoter such as thatfrom LAT52 (Twell et al., Mol. Gen. Genetics, 217:240-245, 1989); apollen-specific promoter such as that from Zm13 (Guerrero et al., Mol.Gen. Genetics, 244:161-168, 1993) or a microspore-preferred promotersuch as that from apg (Twell et al., Sex. Plant Reprod., 6:217-224,1993).

Transport of protein produced by transgenes to a subcellular compartmentsuch as the chloroplast, vacuole, peroxisome, glyoxysome, cell wall, ormitochondrion or for secretion into the apoplast, may be accomplished bymeans of operably linking the nucleotide sequence encoding a signalsequence to the 5′ and/or 3′ region of a gene encoding the protein ofinterest. Targeting sequences at the 5′ and/or 3′ end of the structuralgene may determine, during protein synthesis and processing, where theencoded protein is ultimately compartmentalized. The presence of asignal sequence directs a polypeptide to either an intracellularorganelle or subcellular compartment or for secretion to the apoplast.Many signal sequences are known in the art. See, for example Becker etal. (Plant Mol. Biol., 20:49, 1992); Knox et al. (Plant Mol. Biol.,9:3-17, 1987); Lerner et at. (Plant Physiol., 91:124-129, 1989); Fonteset at. (Plant Cell, 3:483-496, 1991); Matsuoka et al. (Proc. Natl. Acad.Sci. USA, 88:834, 1991); Gould et al. (J. Cell. Biol., 108:1657, 1989);Creissen et al. (Plant J., 2:129, 1991); Kalderon et al. (Cell,39:499-509, 1984); Steifel et al. (Plant Cell, 2:785-793, 1990).

Exemplary nucleic acids which may be introduced to the pea lines of thisinvention include, for example, DNA sequences or genes from anotherspecies, or even genes or sequences which originate with or are presentin the same species, but are incorporated into recipient cells bygenetic engineering methods rather than classical reproduction orbreeding techniques. However, the term “exogenous” is also intended torefer to genes that are not normally present in the cell beingtransformed, or perhaps simply not present in the form, structure, etc.,as found in the transforming DNA segment or gene, or genes which arenormally present and that one desires to express in a manner thatdiffers from the natural expression pattern, e.g., to over-express.Thus, the term “exogenous” gene or DNA is intended to refer to any geneor DNA segment that is introduced into a recipient cell, regardless ofwhether a similar gene may already be present in such a cell. The typeof DNA included in the exogenous DNA can include DNA which is alreadypresent in the plant cell, DNA from another plant, DNA from a differentorganism, or a DNA generated externally, such as a DNA sequencecontaining an antisense message of a gene, or a DNA sequence encoding asynthetic or modified version of a gene.

Many hundreds if not thousands of different genes are known and couldpotentially be introduced into a pea plant according to the invention.Non-limiting examples of particular genes and corresponding phenotypesone may choose to introduce into a pea plant include one or more genesfor insect tolerance, such as a Bacillus thuringiensis (B.t.) gene, pesttolerance such as genes for fungal disease control, herbicide tolerancesuch as genes conferring glyphosate tolerance, and genes for qualityimprovements such as yield, nutritional enhancements, environmental orstress tolerances, or any desirable changes in plant physiology, growth,development, morphology or plant product(s). For example, structuralgenes would include any gene that confers insect tolerance including butnot limited to a Bacillus insect control protein gene as described in WO99/31248, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, U.S. Pat.No. 5,689,052, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, U.S.Pat. Nos. 5,500,365 and 5,880,275, herein incorporated by reference intheir entirety. In another embodiment, the structural gene can confertolerance to the herbicide glyphosate as conferred by genes including,but not limited to Agrobacterium strain CP4 glyphosate resistant EPSPSgene (aroA:CP4) as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,633,435, hereinincorporated by reference in its entirety, or glyphosate oxidoreductasegene (GOX) as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,463,175, herein incorporatedby reference in its entirety.

Alternatively, the DNA coding sequences can affect these phenotypes byencoding a non-translatable RNA molecule that causes the targetedinhibition of expression of an endogenous gene, for example viaantisense- or cosuppression-mediated mechanisms (see, for example, Birdet al., Biotech. Gen. Engin. Rev., 9:207, 1991). The RNA could also be acatalytic RNA molecule (i.e., a ribozyme) engineered to cleave a desiredendogenous mRNA product (see for example, Gibson and Shillito, Mol.Biotech., 7:125, 1997). Thus, any gene which produces a protein or mRNAwhich expresses a phenotype or morphology change of interest is usefulfor the practice of the present invention.

E. Definitions

In the description and tables herein, a number of terms are used. Inorder to provide a clear and consistent understanding of thespecification and claims, the following definitions are provided:

A: When used in conjunction with the word “comprising” or other openlanguage in the claims, the words “a” and “an” denote “one or more.”

Allele: Any of one or more alternative forms of a genetic locus, all ofwhich alleles relate to one trait or characteristic. In a diploid cellor organism, the two alleles of a given gene occupy corresponding locion a pair of homologous chromosomes.

Backcrossing: A process in which a breeder repeatedly crosses hybridprogeny, for example a first generation hybrid (F₁), back to one of theparents of the hybrid progeny. Backcrossing can be used to introduce oneor more single locus conversions from one genetic background intoanother.

Crossing: The mating of two parent plants.

Cross-Pollination: Fertilization by the union of two gametes fromdifferent plants.

Diploid: A cell or organism having two sets of chromosomes.

Emasculate: The removal of plant male sex organs or the inactivation ofthe organs with a cytoplasmic or nuclear genetic factor or a chemicalagent conferring male sterility.

Enzymes: Molecules which can act as catalysts in biological reactions.

F₁ Hybrid: The first generation progeny of the cross of two nonisogenicplants.

Genotype: The genetic constitution of a cell or organism.

Haploid: A cell or organism having one set of the two sets ofchromosomes in a diploid.

Linkage: A phenomenon wherein alleles on the same chromosome tend tosegregate together more often than expected by chance if theirtransmission was independent.

Marker: A readily detectable phenotype, preferably inherited incodominant fashion (both alleles at a locus in a diploid heterozygoteare readily detectable), with no environmental variance component, i.e.,heritability of 1.

Phenotype: The detectable characteristics of a cell or organism, whichcharacteristics are the manifestation of gene expression.

Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL): Quantitative trait loci (QTL) refer togenetic loci that control to some degree numerically representabletraits that are usually continuously distributed.

Regeneration: The development of a plant from tissue culture.

Resistance: As used herein, the terms “resistance” and “tolerance” areused interchangeably to describe plants that show no symptoms to aspecified biotic pest, pathogen, abiotic influence or environmentalcondition. These terms are also used to describe plants showing somesymptoms but that are still able to produce marketable product with anacceptable yield. Some plants that are referred to as resistant ortolerant are only so in the sense that they may still produce a crop,even though the plants are stunted and the yield is reduced.

Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Color Chart Value: The RHS Color Chartis a standardized reference which allows accurate identification of anycolor. A color's designation on the chart describes its hue, brightnessand saturation. A color is precisely named by the RHS Color Chart byidentifying the group name, sheet number and letter, e.g., Yellow-OrangeGroup 19A or Red Group 41B.

Self-pollination: The transfer of pollen from the anther to the stigmaof the same plant.

Single Locus Converted (Conversion) Plant: Plants which are developed bya plant breeding technique called backcrossing or genetic engineering ofa locus wherein essentially all of the morphological and physiologicalcharacteristics of a pea variety are recovered or conserved in additionto the characteristics of the single locus.

Substantially Equivalent: A characteristic that, when compared, does notshow a statistically significant difference (e.g., p=0.05) from themean.

Tissue Culture: A composition comprising isolated cells of the same or adifferent type or a collection of such cells organized into parts of aplant.

Transgene: A genetic locus comprising a sequence which has beenintroduced into the genome of a pea plant by transformation orsite-specific recombination.

F. Deposit Information

A deposit of pea line SV0962QB, disclosed above and recited in theclaims, has been made with the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC),10801 University Blvd., Manassas, Va. 20110-2209. The date of depositfor pea line SV0962QB is Dec. 10, 2018. The accession number for thosedeposited seeds of pea line SV0962QB is ATCC Accession NumberPTA-125556. Upon issuance of a patent, all restrictions upon the depositwill be removed, and the deposit is intended to meet all of therequirements of 37 C.F.R. §§ 1.801-1.809. The deposit will be maintainedin the depository for a period of 30 years, or 5 years after the lastrequest, or for the effective life of the patent, whichever is longer,and will be replaced if necessary during that period.

Although the foregoing invention has been described in some detail byway of illustration and example for purposes of clarity andunderstanding, it will be obvious that certain changes and modificationsmay be practiced within the scope of the invention, as limited only bythe scope of the appended claims.

All references cited herein are hereby expressly incorporated herein byreference.

What is claimed:
 1. A pea plant of pea line SV0962QB, a sample of seedof the line having been deposited under ATCC Accession NumberPTA-125556.
 2. A pea seed that produces the plant of claim
 1. 3. A plantpart of the plant of claim 1, wherein the plant part comprises a cell ofthe plant.
 4. A pea plant having all of the physiological andmorphological characteristics of the plant of claim
 1. 5. A tissueculture of regenerable cells of the plant of claim
 1. 6. A pea plantregenerated from the tissue culture of claim 5, wherein said plant hasall of the physiological and morphological characteristics of pea lineSV0962QB.
 7. A method of vegetatively propagating the plant of claim 1,the method comprising the steps of: (a) collecting tissue capable ofbeing propagated from the plant of claim 1; and (b) propagating a peaplant from the tissue.
 8. A method of introducing a trait into a peaplant, the method comprising: (a) utilizing as a recurrent parent theplant of claim 1 by crossing the plant with a donor pea plant thatcomprises a trait to produce F₁ progeny; (b) selecting an F₁ progenythat comprises the trait; (c) backcrossing the selected F₁ progeny witha plant of the same pea line used as the recurrent parent in step (a) toproduce backcross progeny; (d) selecting a backcross progeny comprisingthe trait and the morphological and physiological characteristics of therecurrent parent pea line used in step (a); and (e) repeating steps (c)and (d) three or more times to produce a selected fourth or higherbackcross progeny.
 9. A pea plant produced by the method of claim
 8. 10.A method of producing a pea plant comprising an added trait, the methodcomprising introducing a transgene conferring the trait into the plantof claim
 1. 11. A pea plant produced by the method of claim
 10. 12. Apea plant of pea line SV0962QB, a sample of seed of the line having beendeposited under ATCC Accession Number PTA-125556, further comprising atransgene.
 13. The plant of claim 12, wherein the transgene confers atrait selected from the group consisting of male sterility, herbicidetolerance, insect resistance, pest resistance, disease resistance,modified fatty acid metabolism, environmental stress tolerance, modifiedcarbohydrate metabolism, and modified protein metabolism.
 14. A peaplant of pea line SV0962QB, a sample of seed of the line having beendeposited under ATCC Accession Number PTA-125556, further comprising asingle locus conversion.
 15. The plant of claim 14, wherein the singlelocus conversion confers a trait selected from the group consisting ofmale sterility, herbicide tolerance, insect resistance, pest resistance,disease resistance, modified fatty acid metabolism, environmental stresstolerance, modified carbohydrate metabolism, and modified proteinmetabolism.
 16. A method for producing a seed of a pea plant derivedfrom pea line SV0962QB, the method comprising the steps of: (a) crossingthe plant of claim 1 with itself or a second pea plant; and (b) allowinga seed of a pea line SV0962QB-derived pea plant to form.
 17. A method ofproducing a seed of a pea line SV0962QB-derived pea plant, the methodcomprising the steps of: (a) producing a pea line SV0962QB-derived peaplant from a seed produced by crossing the plant of claim 1 with itselfor a second pea plant; and (b) crossing the pea line SV0962QB-derivedpea plant with itself or a different pea plant to obtain a seed of afurther pea line SV0962QB-derived pea plant.
 18. The method of claim 17,the method further comprising repeating the producing and crossing stepsof (a) and (b) using the seed from step (b) for producing the plantaccording to step (a) for at least one generation to produce a seed ofan additional pea line SV0962QB-derived pea plant.
 19. A method ofproducing a pea, the method comprising: (a) obtaining the plant of claim1, wherein the plant has been cultivated to maturity; and (b) collectinga pea from the plant.